The local government is called the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. Most of the United States is divided into counties, but Alaska uses "boroughs" instead, and some parts of it are not even in a borough. A few hundred Alaska Natives were joined by small numbers of "Alaska sourdoughs" between 1900 and 1930 when hundreds of "colonists" were moved there by the United States Federal Government in the early 1930s. In the 1970's lots of newcomers to Alaska came to Anchorage. Later on a lot of them moved to the Matanuska Valley to live an "Alaskan country" lifestyle.

Matanuska Glacier

The three rivers in the area have large amounts of glacial silt that is good for farming. The valley is one of the few areas in Alaska which supports big farms.